In the news:

There are a lot of interesting stories in circulation so I'll keep the intro to each brief:

Barak Heads To DC For Iran Talks

Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to leave for Washington on Monday for talks expected to center on Iran, as the frequency of senior- level US-Israeli meetings is at a pace not seen in years.Barak will be followed to Washington later in the week by President Shimon Peres, who will address the annual AIPAC policy conference next Sunday, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who will speak to the conference the next day.Both Peres and Netanyahu will meet President Barack Obama, with Peres doing so on Sunday, and Netanyahu on Monday.

A New Morning, Same Rockets Attack Southern Israel

A new day, a new week, and Gaza terrorists began their near-daily routine of firing short-range Qassam rockets at southern Israel on scheduleas usual Sunday morning.

Palestinian Authority terrorists in Hamas-ruled Gaza have been firing them at southern Israel at random times all weekend long, just as they have done thousands times since Israel's unilateral "disengagement" from the Gush Katif region of Gaza and northern Samaria in August 2005 in which over 8000 Jews were expelled from their homes..

Iran Prepares For Kamikaze Attacks

Even as it continued to talk with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran continued to prepare for war over its nuclear weapons program, training for kamikaze attacks in the Persian Gulf with both planes and speedboats, sources within the Iranian armed forces report.

Tuesday the International Atomic Energy Agency called its recent talks with Iran a failure. And just days before, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the Revolutionary Guards, along with the army, on high alert, ready with conventional and unconventional means to respond to any aggression by the U.S. or Israel over its nuclear weapons program, the sources say.

Iran Strike Would Be 'Catastrophic": Putin

Russia is troubled by the growing threat of a military strike on Iran, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday, adding that fear of foreign intervention pushes other “nuclear threshold” states to acquire nuclear weapons, rather than dissuading them.

“Russia is alarmed by the growing threat of a military strike” against Iran, Putin said in alengthy campaign article focusing on Russia’s foreign policy, published in the daily Moskovskiye Novosti newspaper ahead of presidential elections on March 4, which he is widely expected to win.

“If this happens, the consequences will be truly catastrophic, their real scope impossible to imagine,” Putin wrote.

Iran Warns Israel Not To Attack Its Nuclear Facilities

Iran has warned Israel against mounting an attack on its nuclear facilities amid rising international tension over its uranium enrichment programme.

Iran's warning follows increasingly tough rhetoric from Israel about the need to halt Iran's nuclear development.

General Ahmad Vahidi issued a statement warning Israel that an attack would lead to the collapse of the Jewish state.

Israeli officials believe a pre-emptive strike must happen before the summer because Tehran is moving more of its nuclear installations underground.

U.S. Strengthening Defenses Around Hormuz

In an attempt to counter any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon is strengthening US defenses in the Persian Gulf, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

According to defense officials, the US military has notified Congress of plans to beef up sea and land bases in the area,The Wall Street Journal reported.

U.S. Planning To Boost Sea And Land defenses In Gulf As Iran War Fears Grow

The Pentagon has begun to take tangible steps to prepare for a possible conflict with Iran by making formal plans to boost US sea and land defences in the Persian Gulf, it has been claimed.

Military planners have asked for emergency funding from Congress to address a perceived shortfall in defence capabilities that could undermine the ability of US forces to respond to an Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying.

Here Comes Obama's 3 AM Phone Call

But this administration has chosen its Secretary of Defense to publicly leak the most closely guarded secret of Israel's back-against-the-wall defense against Iranian nuclear weapons.

Such public leaks amount to near treason in time of war. Imagine if someone leaked General Eisenhower's plans for the D-Day invasion in June of 1944. FDR would have fired them instantly, or if they were foreigners he would have felt justified to have them killed. Hundreds of thousands of American and Allied lives were at stake on D Day. In Israel today, hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives are at stake. Don't expect countries fighting for their national survival to act any differently.

The Israelis have now publicly retaliated against the Panetta leak. They have accused General Dempsey, our top general, of publicly taking the Iranian side in the confrontation. But General Dempsey is not the target. The General knows better. The real target is his boss in the White House.

Obama's string puppets at J Street and other Soros fronts are bound to start anti-Israel propaganda again, aided by the New York Times and its ilk. But the Iranians just said (again!) that they are bound and determined to "wipe Israel off the map."

The conventional wisdom is that Israel must attack Iranian nuclear sites soon, because Ahmadinejad is moving his nuclear industry into deep mountain tunnels on an emergency basis. Once his nuke industry is deeply bunkered it is essentially invulnerable to conventional weapons. It is the point of no return.

But the coming crisis cannot be evaded. Obama and his propaganda media will spin and spin -- before, during, and after the coming crisis between Israel and Iran. Obama wanted above all to force Israel to retreat back to 1948 or face a nuclear Iran. It was a choice between slow genocide and fast genocide.

Israel will act as in defense of its right to live.

Russia Upgrades Syria-Based Electronic Station To Warn Iran Of U.S./Israeli Attack

The Russians have upgraded their Jabal Al Harrah electronic and surveillance station south of Damascus opposite Israel’s Sea of Galilee, adding resources especially tailored to give Tehran early warning of an oncoming US or Israeli attack

Also see:

Moderate (4.8) Quake In France

Very Strong Quake In Siberia (updated)

U.S. Deficit "Accident Waiting To Happen" Institute Warns

No One Is Safe Under Islamist Regimes